1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to apparatus for accommodating electrical appliances used in the bathroom and more particularly to apparatus for storing such appliances in the cabinet underneath a bathroom lavatory for allowing their use in a convenient manner.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are many bulky and general unsightly electrical appliances commonly in use in the bathroom. These include electric shavers, electric curler sets, hair blow dryers, contact lens oven-cleaners, electric tooth brushes, electrical water jet equipment for cleaning teeth and the like. Generally, such devices are left on the countertop when not in use (although giving an unslightly appearance), put away in a suitable cabinet or put away in a convenient drawer. When put away, all of these devices are unplugged from the source of electrical power even though most also have switches for turning them on and off. When left on the countertop, sometimes they are left plugged in and sometimes not, generally depending on the plug capacity.
Bathroom cabinets include those that are located conveniently for storing such things as towels and toilet articles and those that are located underneath the lavatory, an inconvenient space for storing the above items, but possibly suitable for storing cleaning items or maybe an out-of-sight waste receptacle. Drawers are also usual in the bathroom, but there are no full size drawers underneath the lavatory because of the presence of the drain pipe and even the inlet pipes to the lavatory and the bottom of the lavatory itself. These things occupy a part of the space underneath the lavatory and make it impossible to install full size drawers in the same location.
There are auxiliary cabinets available that are free-standing for all manner of purposes. In addition, there are cabinets that are equipped with a shelf that slides out of the cabinet on rollers means attached to the cabinet and the sides of the shelf. Typically, television sets are mounted in this fashion to permit the television set to be pulled forward from the confines of the closed cabinet and to then be pivoted on its support shelf for convenient viewing. The roller or sliding means just descirbed is generally a pre-installed condition of the cabinet or, if incorporated into an existing cabinet, requires the experience of a skilled craftsman. Because of this, custom installations of the kind described are not common. There is nothing available in the marketplace that conveniently utilizes the slidable shelf technology for use in the bathroom for accommodating the electrical appliances above described, especially in conjunction with the "dead space" underneath the bathroom lavatory.
Therefore, it is a feature of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus for accommodating electrical appliances generally found in the bathroom and to permit their ready storage without requiring disconnecting them from their power sources.
It is another feature of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus of the type identified above that can be quickly and conveniently installed in the cabinet located underneath a bathroom lavatory.
It is yet another feature of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus of the type identified above that additionally includes safety means for ensuring that the accommodated electrical appliances do not remain "on" for an extended period of time after use.